While those in the government and media were busy fear-mongering about Coronavirus deaths, they conveniently left out the economics of the unseen for those who would suffer and die because of the lockdowns and shutdowns.
In fact, when reporting “excess deaths,” which is a metric that the CDC uses to say there are deaths above what they “expect” (as if they should be relied on to predict what anything “should be” at this rate), they conveniently framed excess deaths in a manner to hide that there were MANY deaths that weren’t even Covid-labelled.
See: https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6942e2.htm
So why was it that Coronavirus was such a focus when 1/3rd of deaths by even the government’s OWN labelling system comprised of a shockingly-high number of deaths above what they thought should be for 2020?
The reason is that government policy caused untold numbers of people to die in ways that few would readily understand without big-picture thinking.
Below is a list and analysis of the more common ways people ended up suffering and dying early due to state policy in 2020.
MISSED ELECTIVE SCREENINGS DUE TO CANCELATION OR FEAR OF GOING OUT:
In the early stages, governors of many states issued orders to cancel elective screenings.
See: State Governors’ “Stay-at-Home” and Prohibition on Elective Procedures Orders
https://www.mcguirewoods.com/client-resources/Alerts/2020/10/state-governors-stay-at-home-prohibition-elective-procedures-orders
and
Hospitals across US cancel elective procedures — again
https://www.healthcaredive.com/news/hospitals-cancel-elective-procedures-once-again/589202/
If one only thinks in single-term variable without any sense of ensuing consequences, it might have seemed like a good idea to keep hospitals open for the supposed wave of Coronavirus cases that would come pouring in.
Of course, thinking only in one vein neglects the real consequences in human lives when screenings meant to catch heart conditions, cancers, and clots are missed.
The cost of cancellation was a host of people missing out on preventative care and, suffering deadly consequences.
The JAMA-published paper, “Preserving Elective Surgeries in the COVID-19 Pandemic and the Future,”
Here: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2771580
details some of those consequences. Of note:
“The long-term effects of widespread delays and their influence on resources, outcomes, and survival may not be apparent for some time. One analysis projected that tremendous effort will be required to clear a surgical case backlog estimated to be nearly 5 million cases (which could take up to 3 months).3 Another study in England estimated an up to 10% reduction in 5-year survival for breast cancer and a 16% reduction in survival for colorectal cancer when routine screening pathways are suspended.4”
The harm done to those who missed out on preventative care is not only substantial but will continue to ripple for years to come.
See: A Crisis of Undiagnosed Cancers Is Emerging in the Pandemic’s Second Year
https://www.propublica.org/article/a-crisis-of-undiagnosed-cancers-is-emerging-in-the-pandemics-second-year
Many have taken to social media to note their struggles, and this example is just one of thousands posted online:
Source: https://mobile.twitter.com/ParTNerHealthTN/status/1400498789689999365
https://twitter.com/medmutual/status/1404771062848557059
- medmutual
GLOBAL POVERTY RATE INCREASING STARVATION AND STARVATION DEATHS:
When the government shut down most all major transport, shipping, and trade, the economic effects were devastating.
While it may be easy for many Americans to handle some time off work, for millions, missing paychecks lead to pain and suffering.
See: 8 million Americans slipped into poverty amid coronavirus pandemic, new study says
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/8-million-americans-slipped-poverty-amid-coronavirus-pandemic-new-study-n1243762
And for those in the third world, not having access to needed resources from tourism and international trade was more than a “slip” into poverty. It meant devastation.
See: Six-fold increase in people suffering famine-like conditions since pandemic began
https://www.oxfam.org/en/press-releases/six-fold-increase-people-suffering-famine-conditions-pandemic-began
And worse, the shift in resources in the third world had additional impacts, as is noted in the next section.
SHIFT IN ALLOCATION OF RESOURCES AWAY FROM OTHER VIRAL AND BACTERIAL TREATMENTS LEADING TO MORE DEATHS:
The Coronavirus scare had governments and NGOs shifting resource allocation from treating other deadly infections, to testing for Coronavirus.
In doing so, deadly contractions like Malaria and Measles went untreated, leading to both a lack of preventative and outpatient care.
According to The Global Fund, an NGO supporting treatment efforts, “[s]pot-checks of 504 health care facilities across 32 countries in Africa and Asia in 2020 revealed a 31% drop in malaria diagnoses over a six-month period compared to the previous year, and a 13% drop in malaria treatment.
See: https://www.theglobalfund.org/en/blog/2021-04-25-in-fighting-covid-19-we-cant-neglect-malaria/
African malaria deaths set to dwarf covid-19 fatalities as pandemic hits control efforts, WHO warns See: https://www.bmj.com/content/371/bmj.m4711
Coupled with the fact that lockdowns lead to school closures where many children in the third world would get their only meal, the future for those in impoverished counties is looking quite bleak.
ELDERLY NEGLECT AND ISOLATION LEADING TO MISSED PREVENTATIVE CARE:
With shutdowns came an isolation of vulnerable elderly persons in nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and hospitals.
Families were told that they could not even visit family members on their death beds.
See: 'Stolen moments': Families anguish over separation from dying COVID patients
https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2021/06/stolen-moments-families-anguish-over-separation-dying-covid-patients
and
Even during a pandemic, hospitals must make family visits and communication the standard of care https://www.statnews.com/2021/01/09/even-during-a-pandemic-hospitals-must-make-family-visits-and-communication-the-standard-of-care/
Isolation was not only a factor in increasing mortality due to psychological state as noted here:
Psychological Consequences of Social Isolation During COVID-19 Outbreak
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.02201/full
and
Is Extended Isolation Killing Older Adults in Long-Term Care?
https://www.aarp.org/caregiving/health/info-2020/covid-isolation-killing-nursing-home-residents.html
The fact that family members were unable to see elderly loved ones meant that important health signs were missed that could have been brought to the attention of doctors.
See: The hidden Covid-19 health crisis: Elderly people are dying from isolation
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/hidden-covid-19-health-crisis-elderly-people-are-dying-isolation-n1244853
and
Not just COVID: Nursing home neglect deaths surge in shadows
https://apnews.com/article/nursing-homes-neglect-death-surge-3b74a2202140c5a6b5cf05cdf0ea4f32
The isolation and the neglect were, in many ways, just as much a killer of grandmas and grandpas as Coronavirus was to the elderly.
DENIAL OF TREATMENTS FOR CORONAVIRUS:
The largest impact on health was the denial of Coronavirus outpatient treatment. This came through targeted suppression in cable and social media and by the government.
This topic is so important, and has so much to cover, that it has its own special article coverage here:
Coronavirus is treatable. Government suppression of this fact killed millions worldwide.
@thepholosopher/coronavirus-is-treatable-government-suppression
To sum it in short: The diversion of resources from outpatient treatment protocols and subsequent focus on masking and vaccines cost hundreds of thousands of lives, maybe millions, across the world.
For further thought on the costs and consequences, I recommend you buy and read this book:
(affiliate)
It provides excellent coverage on the mass manipulations surrounding the state-driven Coronavirus scare.
